A rider who was injured when she and her horse were involved in a collision with a car has successfully claimed more than £11,000 compensation.
The woman, who does not want to be named, settled for an award of £11,419.05 with the driver, despite his initially claiming the horse had backed into his car.
The woman, described by HorseSolicitor, which acted on her behalf, as an “experienced and accomplished rider” was hacking near Norwich in December 2013 when the accident occurred.
A spokesman for the legal firm said: “The horse was wearing a bright red and yellow Newmarket Witney exercise sheet to make her more visible.
“A line of cars had successfully overtaken without incident prior to the horse becoming tense.
“Our client rode her straight and the mare went past the gardener that was upsetting her. Having past the gardener she did however become agitated and began to jump from hoof to hoof as if she were cantering on the spot.”
The horse moved over towards the right-hand side of the road “although not in the oncoming lane”.
The spokesman said: “It would have been easy for all to see that she was agitated and that she presented an obvious hazard.
“Despite there being insufficient room to pass safely, a car attempted to overtake. The car came too close and was travelling too quickly and a collision occurred.”
The rider did not fall off but her leg was injured and she suffered “psychological damage”, while the horse suffered minor injuries.
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The solicitors alleged fault “on the basis that on noting that the horse was in an agitated state, the reasonable driver would have stopped and waited until there was room to safely pass”.
Despite the driver’s initial denial of liability, witness evidence and the damage to his car were used to argue that the driver’s version of events was not credible.
The two parties settled out of court.
